THIS was the dramatic scene as firefighters led three flatmates to safety after they became trapped by a blaze in their apartment block.

The man and two women escaped from their second floor flat when fire broke out on the landing last night.

Fire crews used a ladder to enable the frightened trio to escape the blaze as thick smoke engulfed the stairwell of the block.

Emergency workers told the Daily Echo that the three were lucky to escape with their lives as their flat was not fitted with smoke detectors.

They fitted the second floor apartment with the alarms after they had put out the fire which broke out at around 6.40pm last night.

The three - who are all from the Baltic state of Estonia - are now counting the cost of the damage to their apartment in Alma Road, Portswood, Southampton, which was badly damaged by smoke.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze but are not treating it as suspicious. They believe that the fire in the landing could have been caused by a discarded cigarette butt.

Neighbour Mark Ingoe, 38, who lives in the flat directly below, told how he raised the alarm when he heard people outside shouting.

He said: "They were shouting to the people above because there was a fire. I called the brigade because they did not know the number.

"I would have gone up the stairs to help but I could not as it was black with smoke and it was too thick to see."

Factory worker Ludmila Luht, 34, explained how her female flatmate had opened the door of their apartment to go to college but was engulfed by smoke coming from the landing.

She said: "The smoke came inside the flat. I was so nervous. I was very scared."

Firefighters were quickly on the scene and put a ladder to the window allowing the three to scramble to safety. All three were uninjured in the incident which had left them trapped upstairs. Greg Lorimer, manager at St Mary's fire station, said: "There is no need for smoke alarms in the communal area but we have discussed fitting alarms with the occupiers and actually fitted them in the flats this evening.

"It pays to have smoke detectors. These people were lucky."

Sergeant Joe Short from Portswood police said that police had launched an investigation into the blaze. He said: "At the moment the cause is unknown. It was in the hallway but I don't think it was suspicious. It is more likely to be a cigarette butt."